History of Magherafelt Baptist Church
Magherafelt Baptist Church was formed on 8 April l926
The original building was a corrugated iron structure located on the Moneymore Road, Magherafelt. The hall seated just over 100 people and music was provided by an organ, which was operated by means of bellows pumped by the organist.
A new church building on the Ballyronan Road, seating just over 200 people, was opened in June 1970. It had an open baptismal pool at the front of the Church and the organist was provided with an electric organ. This building served us well for just over 35 years but was demolished in January 2006 to make way for new improved facilities on the same site.
The original church on the Moneymore Road was renovated to become the church hall, with the corrugated iron exterior being replaced with bricks and mortar. The church hall continued to be used until March 2007 for mid-week Bible study and prayer meetings, Baptist Women’s Fellowship, childrens’ meetings, youth club, lunchtime Bible studies, Gospel missions, etc. The building on the Moneymore Road was sold and was demolished in 2010.
New Building
Due to the growth in the numbers attending the church, and the limitations of the various facilities (eg the main church building and the church hall were at opposite ends of the town), the decision was taken to demolish the church building to facilitate a new church building costing just over £1,000,000. Building work commenced in March 2006 and the new building was officially opened on 24 March 2007.
Facilities include a main sanctuary with seating for 240 people, sports hall, minor hall, crèche facilities, improved access for the disabled, church office and a coffee bar area for the young people.
The Doctrinal Basis of the Church in 1926 was as follows:
We believe in “the verbal inspiration, and the all and sole-sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally given, the Trinity in Unity of the God-Head, the essential Deity and perfect humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, the depraved and fallen state of man, the substitutionary sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the justification of the sinner through faith in the Lord Jesus, the personality of the devil, the natural immortality of the soul, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the body, the eternal security of the believer, the conscious eternal punishment of those who die impenitent, the binding character of the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and the immersion of believers as the only Christian Baptism, and the responsibility of all saved souls ‘to live soberly, righteously, and godly’ in this present age.”
Although Baptist Churches are each responsible for their own government, most of the churches are members of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland. The Association enables the churches to support and finance Missions work both at home and abroad, and provides a range of other services.
